Valley pan issue

[Anthony Montagnani]

Can anyone help and advise about a recurring issue I have with the manifold valley pan on a 440 mag engine.

So couple of weeks ago,I noticed a big oil build up ontop of it and after further investigation,the valley pan itself had a crack in it so got a new one ordered from summit fitted it and was all fine but then last week,noticed again oil build up and again,the new pan had a new crack in it so thought it could just be faulty parts so ordered another one,fitted it and again,all good and no leaks.

Drove the car last night and thought I’d just check everything and AGAIN,oil has reappeared and another cracked pan! .... am I missing something simple or just bad luck on poor quality parts?

[Derek]

Excessive crankcase pressure could crack that gasket gasket. do you have a breather and PCV on the valve covers

[Anthony Montagnani]

I’ve got a breather filter on the right hand side and a PCV valve and pipe that goes to the inlet manifold on the left (as if your looking st it from the front)

[Pete]

I thought the PCV goes on the PASS Side and the Breather / Filler goes on the Drivers side....

[Anthony Montagnani]

That’s what I have .... valve on the pass and breather filter on the drivers side

[Derek]

I thought the PCV goes on the PASS Side and the Breather / Filler goes on the Drivers side....

Pete, he's looking from the front.

[Pete]

Ahh! Sorry...

[Roger S]

I don't see how crank case pressure could crack a steel valley gasket unless its a fibre one. ( never seen a fibre one ) Just replaced mine recently and the steel ones are fairly thick. Can you post a photo of the crack ?

Rog

[Anthony Montagnani]

Here ya go rob ....

[Anthony Montagnani]

Won’t let me upload a picture of it so it’s roughly a 4-5 inch crack at the top end of the pan (firewall end) and it’s going downwards if that helps?

[Roger S]

Anthony

Is the crack always in the same place ? A crack will start from a weak point, possibly a bolt hole. Does it start from the 3 bolt retainer plate ?
see my photo


Rog

[Anthony Montagnani]

You see where the line is right down the centre of the pan,at the top end (firewall end),it always seems to crack just after that line on the drivers side area

[Anthony Montagnani]

So top right area if your looking at this picture

[Roger S]

Hi Anthony

My thoughts on this,(see my sketch) can you fit the gaskets between the valley pan and heads ? The reason I ask is, I couldnt fit gaskets as my block has been decked, which in my case means the bolt holes don't line up with pan if I try to fit gaskets, because effectively both heads when fitted move downwards, slightly throwing everything out, so I rely on silicone only. If you have gaskets between the pan and heads, then maybe the gap under the pan to the 3 bolt retainers is a little excessive. If you have tightened the inlet manifold first effectively locking the valley pan in place, then when tightening the 3 bolts you could be stressing the plate, then when everything heats up you have the issue. Don't forget these 3 bolts are only torqued to about 14 ftb from memory. When you do again try tightening all the manifold bolts and the 3 bolt retainers together a little at a time,rather than in isolation if that makes sense.
Good luck.

Rog